Halloween Moon Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus, known as the red land crab, whitespot crab, Halloween crab, moon crab, Halloween moon crab, mouthless crab or harlequin land crab, is a colourful land crab. G. quadratus is found in mangrove, sand dunes and rainforest along the Pacific coast from Mexico south to Panama. This nocturnal crab digs burrows – sometimes as long as 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) – in the coastal rainforests of Central America, and is common along the coasts of Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. It lives in the forest at least some of its adult life, but needs to return to the ocean to breed. It is largely herbivorous, and consumes leaf litter and seedlings.

Gecarcinus quadratus, known as the red land crab, whitespot crab, Halloween crab, moon crab, Halloween moon crab, mouthless crab or harlequin land crab. This image was taken along the Pacific coast of Azuero in Panama.